Time and Tears
by lifegospel
Summary: Set six years after the end of the first season. Rachel's been in New york for the past six years, and suddenly finds herself applying for the position of drama teacher at McKinley High. ON NEAR DEFINITE HIATUS DUE TO GLEE CLUB Oh the irony
1. Chapter 1

Author's note - This is my first Fanfic, but don't be too nice, I'm looking for criticism.

Disclaimer - As much as I wish I owned the rights to GLEE, I don't, so none of the characters represented are mine.

It felt good to be back at Mckinley High, Rachel decided. She had been away for six years, but not much had changed. The jocks still beat on the nerds, the cheerleaders still ruled the school, it was comforting. As she stepped out of Principal Figgins' office, Rachel heard a familiar voice.

"Rachel!"

She spun around to see one of the last people she expected, Finn was hurrying towards her, waving her closer. As he caught up, Rachel almost caught a glimmer of a distant memory in his eyes, they still shone the same as they had six years ago.

"Rachel, I thought you left for New York. You said something about Les Miz and that was the last any of us heard of you."

"Yes, well, Broadway isn't all it's cracked up to be," Rachel said in her best diva voice. "so I applied for a job here, I'm the new drama teacher and glee club director, Mrs. Berry."

Finn looked at Rachel quizzically as she held out her hand, "Mrs. Berry?" His voice trailed off as he finally understood, reaching out and gripping her hand. "Oh! I get it, so who's the lucky man?" Rachel glanced around, as if unsure of who was listening, but the halls were empty. "Well, I was hoping nobdy would find out, but..." She stuttered.

"Who? Who!"

Blushing, Rachel finally managed to work up her voice, whispering, "Jesse." she said sheepishly. "I married Jesse."

Dumbfounded, Finn stared into space before coming to his senses.

"So what happened to Mr. High-and-Mighty Jesse St. James anyways? I thought he'd be here with you for sure."

Weakly, Rachel looked into Finn's eyes, "I'd rather not talk about it here, can we go somewhere private?"

Finn nodded, understanding her reluctance. "Sure, but would you mind sharing it with the rest of the the old New Directions? We're having a get-together tonight and I'm sure they all want to see you."

Rachel returned the nod, "Okay." Suddenly, Rachel swept Finn up into a crushing hug and Finn, noticing the tears in her eyes, hugged back just as hard, barely hearing the whimpers of "Thank you." coming from Rachel. His mind flashed back to a single night, six years ago, when he had professed his love to Rachel, and he stepped back. "Rachel, I meant what I said at Regionals, and I still do mean it, I love you. Anytime you need me, just tell me, I'll do my best."

How that was supposed to make her feel better, Finn had no idea, but somehow, it did, and Rachel left the school feeling absolutely radiant, already making preperations for that night.

A sharp, curt knock sounded on Finn's door, and Finn called the usual response,

"Come in!"

The door swung open to reveal Santana and Brittany, both wearing matching blouses and skirts. Finn set the pizza boxes down on the table and led the pair into the living room.

"You girls are early, so get comfortable and I'll be back. Either of you want anything?"

Both shook their heads as they sat down, and Finn returned to the kitchen. Soon enough, the room was full of nearly everyone from the old glee club, (The Gleeks, they called it in private.) at least, everyone who was still in town. As Puck calmed down the group and Mercedes poured drinks, Finn stood up.

"Alright guys, we haven't all been together like this in a long time." He glanced around the room, noting everyone's position. He was just about to continue when Kurt interupted.

"Um, but we all met just last week."

Grinning to himself, Finn calmly collected himself. "Yeah, I know, but I met someone today that you should meet, and she's the only person who truly completes this team. I thought she was out of town, and it turns out she isn't so let me introduce you to Mrs. Ra-"

Rachel stepped in, tapping Finn on the shoulder, "They all know who I am, you don't need to give me an introduction."

Looking around, the entire group was dumbstruck. The majority had thought that Rachel had left town with no intentions of ever coming back, but apparently they were wrong.

Realizing how much attention she was drawing, Rachel stepped forward. "You're all wondering where I've been for six years, and I knew I'd have to tell somebody some day, so I guess you all deserve to know."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I'll keep posting as long as you guys keep reviewing.

I do not own any of the characters presented, and I'm not making any profit off of these.

"Well, after I graduated from McKinley, I left for New York to audition for Les Miz. I got in, but the funding was pulled and the show shut down before opening night. I then went on to get a PhD in theatre, and in my final year, I was found by Jesse St. James. We began dating again, and after another year, we got engaged, and finally, married. I was happy, and thought he felt the same, but one day when I came home, I found him in bed with this... this... girl,"

Rachel was in tears by this point. "and I told Jesse that I was willing to forgive him if he promised me that it wouldn't happen again, but he went behind my back and did it again. The second time I found out, I waited until he was home alone with me and I... I.."

Her voice trailed off as Rachel found herself unable to continue. Gathering her courage, she quickly finished. "Let's just say that he's lucky I only had a book with me at the time. I told him it was over and left. and I never looked back. If I did, Jesse St. James would probably be dead. I just wandered around for a year, doing things I'm not proud of, but I eventually found myself here, and applied for a teaching position at the school. They accepted me, and now you're all looking at the newest drama teacher."

With that, Rachel collapsed on the couch, somewhere between grinning maniacally and breaking down into tears. All of a sudden, the room became dead silent, with each of the others crossing their hand over their chest, it was a sign of respect, a sign of acceptance, even a sign of love and understanding. Rachel looked up and saw what everyone was doing, finally etting the tears flow, all she could say was a barely audible, "Thank you."

The door opened and everyone jumped when a voice called out "Hey guys, I just got a call from Principal Figgins, guess who's the newest co-director of the glee club? Rach-"

Will Shuester stepped into the room, and his train of thought was interupted as Rachel came into view. "Oh, never mind, I guess you guys already know."

The group of Gleeks nodded in silent agreement, and Rachel glanced at Will, her face lighting up.

"Mr. Shue! I thought I wouldn't get to see you until tomorrow, you know, during glee club?"

Mr. Shue looked around, "How come nobody told me Rachel was in town?"

Quinn was the first one to speak up,"None of us knew, Finn only found out today."

As Mr. Shuester quickly settled in, the group began talking, telling Rachel what had happened in the six years she had been gone. It was hard to hear over the noise of all nine voices speaking at once, but from what she could gather, Santana and Brittany had gotten married and both had gotten jobs at a local gym, Finn was now teaching dance and coaching football for McKinley, was still teaching spanish and directing the glee club, and Mercedes had managed to secure a recording contract as a blues and funk artist, with an album being released next month.

The group talked into the night, and the subject of where Rachel was going to stay had been left undecided. She had mentioned staying in a hotel, but Quinn offered her a room for the time being. It was agreed that each of the group would put up Rachel for a few nights at a time until she got on her feet, the fact of which made Rachel break down in tears again.

It wasn't until midnight that Quinn and Rachel pulled out of Finn's neighborhood, and both girls were asleep the moment their heads hit their respective pillows.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Glee, most characters presented belong to FOX, you guys know the drill. Let me say that I didn't actually expect to get ths far, so thanks for all the positive support.

Rachel awoke with a start. She had been having that dream again, the one where New Directions had never been a part of her life, where Jesse St. James had never been born, where she had never even heard of show choir. Rachel had been having that dream every night for six years, and still couldn't understand what it meant.

"Why should today be any different?" Rachel asked herself as she prepared for her first day teaching.

At the school, Rachel was told of her duties by one of the office assistants, who introduced herelf as Marcia.

"Lunch is served in the teacher's lounge, you get a break between third and fourth periods, I'm sure you know the drill." Rachel looked at the stern, harsh woman with a hint of confusion, "What should I do with the students? I haven't had any time to work on a teaching plan." Marcia looked back at her with a certain amount of coolness, "I wouldn't worry about that, the students only take drama for an easy grade." A painful looking grimace that could have been a smile crossed her face as Rachel slowly backed out of the office, growing more nervous by the minute, asking herself how hard these kids could be.

As the bell signalling the beginning of the first period chimed and the class slowly entered the auditorium, Rachel finally understood what Marcia had meant. There were kids pushing each other into the aisles, climbing all over the seats, headbutting each other, it was total chaos. Rachel stepped forward and tried to clear her throat over the cacophony, but it was useless, the students ignored her. Switching to a different tactic, Rachel reached over to the lights anf flicked them off, plunging the room into total darkness. Within an instant, the auditorium became dead silent, so Rachel began speaking as she turned the lights back on.

"Ahem, thank you and good morning. My name is Mrs. Berry, and starting today, I'll be your new drama teacher. Are there any questions before we start our warmup?" A short boy with brown hair raised his hand, "Yeah, what happened to Ms. Reid?" Rachel looked at him warmly, "Well, she decided that she needed a break, so I'm filing in for her until she get's back." She looked around the room, "Now, I don't know how the old teacher did things, so why doesn't somebody tell me and we'll start." This time, a tall, dark boy's hand shot up, "we usually just do whatever we want. The teacher never tells us to do nothin'" Rachel smirked at him as an idea formed in her mind, this would be easier than she thought. "Very funny, why don't you come up here." As he approached, she began talking, pausing only for him to respond. "Now, what's your name?" "Endritt." "Alright Endritt, do you sing?" The boy stared at her, trying to hold back a laugh but not really succeeding, "Yeah, sure, I sing," and with that Endritt burst into a rough rendition of an old Eminem song before Rachel stopped him, laughing along with the class. "Okay, Okay, I was talking about something that actually requires talent, like.. uumm.. Oh, I have one." She briskly walked over to the nearby speake unit, gladly noting that it had an iPod attachment. She plugged it in and selected one of her favorite songs, "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miz. As Rachel hit the last note, the whole auditorium filled with allpause to the point that it became nearly deafening. The bell rang before Rachel could give the class their next assignment, and the students rushed out of the room, whispering amonst themselves about the performance, it was clear that they were impressed. However, she managed to catch Endritt before he left, writing him a note to excuse him from his next class, she only needed a few minutes. "Listen, Endritt, you've got a pretty good voice. You should put some serious thought into joining the glee club." Endritt looked at Rachel, amazed, she may be good, bus she was crazy. "But Mrs. Berry, I can't, if it got out that I was singing showtunes, I'd be dead." Rachel nodded, she understood competely, realizing just how little had changed in the six years she had been gone.


End file.
